Bee's Shoes
by kdawg87
Summary: It's Bethany's first day of school and she's got the perfect outfit all picked out, until she realizes something is missing. Also posted on AO3. I passed a store called "Bee Shoes" while on vacation and this just came to my mind. Don't know if I'll try my had at writing any time soon, but comments and feedback are more than welcome :)


Bee's Shoes

It's 6:30 when Kurt finally pulls into the driveway after his most important mission in quite some time. He sighs and looks up to see all the lights out in their apartment, Jane and Bethany still asleep after the last weekend of the summer. He promised Bethany that he'd be back in time to walk her to her first day of school and so help him if he didn't keep that promise. Looking back at what kept him away from his family all night, he chuckles and shakes his head as he climbs out of the SUV and up the front steps.

Bethany had spent all week going through her closet to pick out the perfect outfit for her first day of kindergarten. She had finally settled on a bright pink sequenced shirt that Aunt Patterson had given her with some black leggings that Aunt Tasha swore made her look at least 2 inches taller. Uncle Reade had given her a brand new backpack that she filled with her new pencil case set that Jane and Kurt had bought her. But the most important part of her outfit, the piece de resistance, was the wheelie shoes that Uncle Rich had gave her for her birthday earlier that summer. Not a day had gone by that she hadn't zipped up and down the apartment hallways trying to see how fast she could go.

But now as Kurt and Jane helped her get ready for bed and laid her clothes out for the next morning, the shoes were nowhere to be found. They had checked the whole apartment - inside every closet, under every bed and behind every sofa - but there was no sign of Bee's beloved shoes. Bethany had started tearing up when the shoes weren't by the front door and was now full on crying that they weren't anywhere in the whole house. Jane had even called Avery thinking that maybe Bee had left her shoes at her dorm the last time she had gone to spend the day with her big sister. No luck with the shoes, but she did leave behind her teddy bear that Avery was a little reluctant to return because she missed her little sister just as much.

Kurt thought back to where they'd gone the last few days and groaned when it finally dawned on him where they'd spent the long weekend. They'd decided to go up to the cottage at the last minute wanting to get away from the city one last time before the weather cooled down. They had spent the last morning out on the lake trying one last time to teach Bethany how to swim underwater. She loved sticking her head underwater but her life vest kept making her head bob out and she couldn't see all the fishies swimming under the surface. Kurt had bought her a pair of arm floaties, flippers, and scuba goggles to teach her how to snorkle. They'd spent all morning diving in and out of the water still trying to find their first fish. Jane had finally coaxed them out of the water for lunch put didn't manage to get Bee further than the dock. Bee was walking around in her flippers eating a sandwich as Jane and Kurt loaded the SUV for the drive home. Kurt was the first to turn around as he heard Bethany cry out. She was sprawled on the floor one flipper still on her foot and the other thrown off to the side. He ran over and scooped her up, trying to calm her down telling her that there was barely a scratch. Jane looked over and Kurt saw the same knowing look in her eyes - Bethany was exhausted and they should just head home as soon as the car was packed. Jane grabbed Bethany's towel and wrapped her up in it, bouncing her up and down to calm her down. While Kurt finished loading the car, Jane got Bethany strapped into her car seat and they began the long drive home.

It was well after 10 when Jane walked out of Bethany's room and saw Kurt sitting at the kitchen counter drinking a large cup of coffee.

"Planning to stay up all night?"she asked as she wrapped her arms around him and placed a kiss along his jaw.

He looked down and shook his head "I've gotta go back" he said quietly.

"Go back?"

"The cottage. I've gotta go back to the cottage"

Jane raised her eyebrow questioningly as Kurt spun around in his seat.

"She came back in one flipper. Her shoes are still at the cottage."

Jane tried to convince him that he didn't have to spend the night driving to pick up a pair of shoes for a 5 year old. She had more than enough shoes to choose from and he'd already made the long drive once that day, he shouldn't be doing it alone in the middle of the night. But Kurt's fatherly instincts, and the fact that little Bee had him wrapped around her little finger, meant he would do anything to make sure his daughter was happy. Plus she had over a decade of schooling to go through and if she hated the first day, whose to say she wouldn't hate it forever. And so Jane finally gave in, not because she agreed but because she wanted to go to bed herself. She kissed Kurt good night and watched him pull out of the driveway and down their street.

Kurt quietly enters their apartment and heads to the kitchen with the bag of groceries he stopped to pick up on his way home. If he was going to make sure Bethany's first day of school was unforgettable then he'd have to make her favourite chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. A while later, he hears Jane and Bethany get up and can sense that his little girl isn't nearly as excited for her first day of school as she was a week ago. Lucky for him he's got a secret up his sleeve, well two really. By the time the girls make their way to the dining room, Kurt has breakfast set on the table.

"Daddy you made my favourite." Bee exclaims as she runs into her dad's arms to give him a big hug and a kiss.

"Of course I did baby. Can't have you going to school hungry on your first day."

The pancake breakfast puts a smile on Bethany's face but it's short lived once she realizes it's time to head out for school. As she slumps her shoulders and makes her way to the front door, Jane and Kurt can tell she clearly hasn't gotten over the fact that her favourite shoes are still missing. As she rounds the corner to the front door they hear her scream out in excitement.

"My shoes! Mommy, daddy you found my shoes!"

"Guess we didn't check the car last night while we were looking for them" Kurt says as he makes his way over carrying her backpack.

Jane looks over with a slight smirk and chuckles at Kurt's response. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, everyone knows he'd do anything for his little Bee. The three of them head out the front door hand in hand for the short walk to Bethany's school.

It's 9am by the time Jane and Kurt make their way into work at the FBI. Jane tried to convince her husband to take the morning off to catch up on some sleep but he insisted he was fine. As much as they want to start working on their latest case, Kurt is running on fumes and needs some coffee to make it until lunch, let alone through the whole day.

Rich walks into the break room takes one look at Kurt standing at the counter and says "Geez Weller, you look like shit."

Kurt just glares at him as Jane lets a small chuckle escape.

"I mean if you're gonna stay up all night working on baby number 2 you should at least look happy the next morning. Unless you need an extra body to make it more interesting."

The glare on Kurt's face doesn't change, in fact it looks even more deadly now. Jane cups his cheek and gives him a few kisses along his jaw letting him know that he's doing perfectly well in that department on his own, baby number 2 is only 7 months away but they're the only ones who know so far. She turns to Rich and explains the whole shoe fiasco with Bethany the night before.

Rich let's out a loud laugh as Jane recounts Kurt's all-nighter. Kurt's glare is still on Rich and even though he's not ashamed that his daughter has him under her control, he's not in the mood for Rich's regular antics.

"Sorry I know it's not funny, well not for you. Actually it's really sweet that you went through all that for a pair of shoes." Rich lets out a smaller chuckle. "It's just that Bethany told me a few weeks ago that those were her favourite shoes ever, so I bought a pair in the next few sizes so that she can grow into them."

Jane and Kurt just started at Rich, dumbfounded at his latest revelation.

I would've brought over a pair last night, but someone ignored my messages all weekend so I probably would've let you make the long drive anyways." And with that he left the room with a smug smile on his face.


End file.
